The title, “king of kings,” is assumed by almost all the persian monarchs in their inscriptions.Perfect peace - “Peace” is not in the original, and the word translated “perfect” occurs only in this place. Some prefer to take it as an adjective descriptive of Ezra (see margin); others (Septuagint) as the opening word of the first paragraph of the letter, and give it the meaning, “it is completed.” read more
Ezra 7:11. This is the copy of the letter that the King Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra “It can hardly be supposed, but that some more than ordinary means were used to obtain so great a favour from Artaxerxes, as this commission was upon which Ezra went; and therefore we may suppose that it was granted at the solicitation of Esther; for this Artaxerxes was the Ahasuerus of Esther. She was become the best beloved of the king’s concubines, though not yet advanced to the dignity of queen; for, it... read more
Ezra 7:12. Unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven Or, as the Hebrew may be rendered, a perfect scribe of the law, &c., a title which, it seems, Ezra delighted in, and desired no other; no, not when he was advanced to the proconsular dignity, and made the governor of a province. He reckoned it more to his honour to be a scribe of God’s law than to be a peer or prince of the empire. read more
7:1-8:36 RETURN UNDER EZRAThe temple was completed in 516 BC. Ezra’s return was in 458 BC, the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes I (see 7:1,7). There is therefore a gap of about sixty years between Chapters 6 and 7. By the time of Ezra, former leaders such as Zerubbabel, Joshua, Haggai and Zechariah had died. Without their leadership, Israel’s religious life became weak and its community life disordered. The only detailed information that the Bible gives of events during these years is... read more
the scribe . . . a scribe = a perfect scribe. Figure of speech Epizeuxis ( App-6 ). read more
GOD Chaldee. 'eldh. Same as Hebrew Eloah. App-4 . GOD of heaven. See note on 2 Chronicles 36:23 . read more
THE LETTER OF ARTAXERXES COMMISSIONING EZRA (Ezra 7:11-16)"Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of Jehovah, and of his statutes to Israel: Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect, and so forth."Beginning with Ezra 7:12, the letter of Artaxerxes is written in Aramaic, following which, in Ezra 7:27, Ezra again wrote in... read more
11. this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave—The measure which this document authorized, and the remarkable interest in the Jews displayed in it, were most probably owing to the influence of Esther, who is thought to have been raised to the high position of queen a few months previous to the departure of Ezra [HALES]. According to others, who adopt a different chronology, it was more probably pressed upon the attention of the Persian court by Ezra, who, like Daniel, showed... read more
12. Artaxerxes, king of kings—That title might have been assumed as, with literal truth, applicable to him, since many of the tributary princes of his empire still retained the name and authority of kings. But it was a probably a mere Orientalism, denoting a great and powerful prince, as the heaven of heavens signified the highest heaven, and vanity of vanities, the greatest vanity. This vainglorious title was assumed by the kings of Assyria, from whom it passed to the sovereigns of Persia.... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Ezra 7:12
Artaxerxes, king of kings . "King of kings, kkshayathiya khshaya-thiyanam ," an equivalent of the modern shahinshah , was a recognised title of the Persian monarchs, and is found in every Persian inscription of any considerable length. It was a title that had been used occasionally, though not at all frequently, by the Assyrian monarchs, and naturally expressed the fact that those monarchs for the most part maintained the native princes on the thrones of the countries which they... read more